Texans add graduate transfer, former state champion Masen Ward to 2022-23 golf roster

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STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Head coach Chance Cain is adding a bit of everything to the new Tarleton men’s golf program. The Texans have international flavor, young athletes, and even a touted transfer. Now they’re adding experience, bringing in their first graduate transfer, Masen Ward.

Ward joins Tarleton from Westminster College, where he’s played four seasons at the NCAA Division II level in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The new Texan is coming off of his best season, where he played in six tournaments, averaging a gross round score of 73.5, an average +1.9 score to par across 17 rounds. Over a three-tournament stretch in the middle of the year, Ward turned in tournament scores of +2, +2 and -1, shooting between 70-74 in all nine rounds. His best finish among those three tournaments was at the Fall Hardrocker Invite in Rapid City, South Dakota, finishing tied-second.

“Masen is bringing in invaluable experience as a graduate transfer and we’re excited to have him as our next addition to this program,” Cain said. “He’s made some great strides this year in the D2 ranks with multiple top-10 finishes and has played steady all season long. The mixture between his experience, leadership, and work ethic will definitely enhance this program starting in the fall.”

Ward was one of the best players in Westminster College history, playing for the Griffins from 2018-22. Across 69 rounds of tournament play in his four seasons, Ward had a career average score of 74.8, the fourth best average in program history. At 20 career rounds of par or better, he led the program in the category, peaking at the RMAC Men’s Championship in 2018-19, where he turned in scores of 68-68 his first two rounds, tied for the best 36-hole score ever at Westminster. He had the second best 54-hole score ever with a -5 (208) in the same tournament, placing tied-fifth.

In his Westminster career, Ward earned three RMAC Men’s Golfer of the Week awards. He also achieved RMAC All-Academic status and was on the Dean’s List all four years.

Ward hails from Moab, Utah, where he attended Grand County High School. His senior year, he won the 3A State High School Golf Championship as an individual. His last three years, he helped Grand County win three straight state team championships. Ward was an All-State player all four years and served as the team captain his last three seasons.

The Utah native is a well-rounded athlete, playing four years of varsity basketball and baseball at Grand County, named an All-Star on the diamond his junior and senior campaigns.

Ward plans to get his MBA at Tarleton. He joins Max Bengtsson, Alvaro Huidobro, Johnathan Kittle and Cristobal Sepulveda as the first members of the men’s golf team since its restart after a 25-plus year hiatus.

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